May 19, 2022

Filtration, Evacuation, Deportation


Filtration, Evacuation, Deportation
The Mariupol Train Station prior to the war, now on the front lines. Wikimedia commons user Mykola Swarnyk

Since the Russian Armed Forces arrived in Ukraine, Ukrainians have been getting pushed out of their homes through deportation and evacuation. Some, however, are being forced to go through filtration camps. 

There are at least three known filtration camps in Ukraine: in Dokuchaevsk, Bezymyanny, and Mariupol. The purpose of these camps is to "filter" out those with pro-Ukrainian views and then send them to Russian detainment centers, after their anti-Russian sentiments have been established. These filtration camps often consist of people living in tents, and some are so overcrowded that there is no room to lie down. While in these camps Ukrainians are fingerprinted, searched, personal data is collected, men are undressed, any bodily markings are noted, and they are interrogated.

Those who have been deported and evacuated are not sent a few miles from home, but are often sent into the interior of Russia itself. The mayor of Mariupol claimed that some prisoners have even been taken to Siberia and eastern Russia.

Ukrainians who are then released from such camps must try to find their way back home. Once in Russia, there are apparently three routes that Ukrainians are using: through Crimea, Georgia, or St. Petersburg and into Estonia — the latter being the most popular route. As long as Ukrainians retain their passports and do not receive any stamps during their exfiltration process, leaving Russia should be fairly easy, but it’s impossible to say with certainty.

Not only is the stamping of passports a potential issue in filtration camps, but so is forced passportization, wherein the Russian occupiers replace Ukrainian passports with Russian ones. According to Eleonora Yemets, head of the criminal cases practice at ADER HABER law firm, this violates Ukrainian law as well as the Geneva Conventions and is a war crime.

You Might Also Like

Zelensky Returns
  • May 09, 2022

Zelensky Returns

After six weeks away, Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky made an appearance at Kiev's parliament.
Protesting Horror
  • April 11, 2022

Protesting Horror

Despite bans on protests, Russians have found creative ways to voice their anti-war stance.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955